15326: BHM 2021—USPS.

 

The U.S. Postal Service issued the 44th Black Heritage Stamp, celebrating August Wilson. Given the service delays, use the stamp and expect your letter to be delivered by August…

15130: Neither Snow Nor Rain Nor Heat Nor Gloom Of Night Doesn’t Cover Assholes.

 

10963: Rosa Parks Goes Postal.

From The San Francisco Chronicle…

Postal Service honors Rosa Parks with new stamp

Associated Press, By Mike Householder

DEARBORN, Mich. (AP) — Hundreds of people, including some of Michigan’s political elite, gathered Monday to celebrate the late Rosa Parks on what would have been her 100th birthday by unveiling a postage stamp in her honor steps from the Alabama bus on which she stared down segregation nearly 60 years ago.

Parks, who died in 2005, became one of the enduring figures of the Civil Rights movement when she refused to cede her seat in the colored section of the Montgomery, Ala., bus to a white man after the whites-only section filled up. Her defiance and the ensuing black boycott of the city bus system helped the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. rise to national prominence.

“This is being done in sight of the bus where future generations can sit in a seat where Rosa Parks sat and refused to budge and in a seat where the world was changed,” U.S. Sen. Carl Levin said before he and U.S. Rep. John Conyers, a fellow Democrat, pulled the curtain to reveal the Rosa Parks Forever Stamp, which bears her 1950’s likeness.

The stamp ceremony was part of a 12-hour event at The Henry Ford in celebration of the 100th anniversary of Parks’ birth that also featured speeches and live music.

At one point, officials cleared the vehicle and allowed Deputy Postmaster General Ronald Stroman — who as a young lawyer worked on Conyers’ staff while Parks worked at Conyers’ Detroit office — to sit on the bus by himself.

Stroman looked around the bus and gathered his thoughts before saying: “It’s such a powerful experience to be actually in the seat that Rosa Parks sat in. It’s almost emotional — very overwhelming to be here.”

The Parks stamp is the second in a set of civil rights stamps being issued this year by the U.S. Postal Service.

USPS launched the series Jan. 1 with the Emancipation Proclamation Forever Stamp, which was issued at The National Archives in Washington. In August, the series will culminate with the dedication of a stamp recognizing the 50th anniversary of the historic March on Washington.

The value of a Forever Stamp is the domestic First-Class Mail letter price in effect on the day of use. They always are sold at the same price as a regular First-Class Mail stamp.

Forever Stamps currently are being sold for 46 cents.

The Parks stamp went on sale Monday at post offices nationwide and at The Henry Ford, where dozens of people lined up to buy it, and nearby where collectors gathered to get their new stamps and other collectables stamped — or officially “canceled” — by a postal service employee.

Avid collector David Malhalab was one of the first in line to get stamps, pamphlets and other items canceled.

“Today is the Super Bowl or the championship game for stamp collectors,” he said, seated at a table surrounded by his various stamped collectibles.

President Barack Obama issued a proclamation that was read at Monday’s event by Detroit-area Democratic U.S. Rep. Gary Peters.

“As we mark the 100th anniversary of Rosa Parks’ birth, we celebrate the life of a genuine American hero and remind ourselves that although the principle of equality has always been self-evident, it has never been self-executing,” the proclamation reads.

“I call upon all Americans to observe this day with appropriate service, community and education programs to honor Rosa Parks’ enduring legacy.”

7833: Negro Leagues Go Postal.

From WYFF News 4…

New Postage Stamps Spotlight Negro League Baseball
Ninety-Six Man, Former Player Honored

By Kisha Foster, WYFF News 4 Reporter

NINETY SIX, S.C.—Thursday the United States Post Office unveiled two new commemorative stamps which spotlight Negro League Baseball.

Negro League Baseball gave black players a chance to show their talents before the major leagues were integrated.

Robert Williams, of Ninety Six, was the guest of honor at a reception at the local post office.

“Oh man its wonderful! The most beautiful thing about it, they recognized us. They didn’t forget about us,” said Williams.

Dressed in white jacket and black bow tie, the 77 year-old signed autographs and took pictures with people from various backgrounds and ages.

Williams was a shortstop for the Birmingham Black Barons.

He played for one season, in 1955. His career was cut short when he was drafted for the U. S. Army.

The Barons, which were a part of the Negro National League, played from 1920 to 1960.

Williams said, “I got in the Negro League and I played with some of the best ball players and against some of the best ball players. One thing every team that we played tried to get my contract. So that meant a lot to me, made me feel like I could play ball.”

Legendary stars who played in the league included Satchel Paige, Willie Mays, Hank Aaron and Jackie Robinson.

One stamp shows a close play at home plate, while the other commemorates Andrew “Rube” Foster, founder of the leagues that operated from 1920 to 1960.

Ninety Six Mayor Arvest Turner called the celebration a fitting honor for a native son.

“We are certainly proud of him as an asset to the town. I’ve been working with him on a couple of projects and he has always devoted his time to helping the community out,” said Turner.

Every year the U.S. Post Office receive 50,000 requests from the public for a different stamp.

United States Postal Spokesman Harry Spratlin said “The Citizen Stamp Advisory committee makes the decision. But they make the decision based on recommendations from the public.”

6623: Native Stamp.

From The Chicago Tribune…

Richard Wright comes home again

Julia Keller, Cultural Critic

Mississippi made him, but Chicago made him a writer. It was Chicago—with its bright churn of possibilities and its darker realities—that transformed Richard Wright from a shy Southern kid into a popular and internationally acclaimed author.

Chicago broke his heart, but it gave him his mission: to illuminate the dehumanizing effects of racial prejudice in 20th Century America.

That is why, according to officials at the U.S. Postal Service, when a new stamp honoring Richard Wright (1908-1960) was commissioned, they decided that the stamp’s background simply had to be the South Side of Chicago, where Wright lived and worked during a crucial, formative decade.

And when a location was needed for the public ceremony Thursday at which the stamp will be unveiled, that was a snap: Again, it had to be Chicago.

In fact, in a touch as satisfying as the period at the end of a beautiful sentence, the event will occur at the post office of the same name at which Wright—as a brilliant and ambitious 19-year-old, fresh off the train from Memphis—was hired in 1928 to haul and sort mail. The current main post office is across the street from the building at which Wright worked; the new structure was completed in 1997.

The author of “Native Son” (1940) and “Black Boy” (1945) would go on to live in cities such as New York and Paris, but it was Chicago that turned him into the restless literary artist and fearless truth-teller he became.

“We went back and forth about what the background would be,” said Kadir Nelson, the artist who created the Wright stamp, from his studio in San Diego. “It was either going to be the South or Chicago. Chicago just made the most sense.”

Read the full story here.

6154: From The Fire Wires.

Handing out pink slips in a MultiCultClassics Monologue…

• Citigroup will dump up to 50,000 workers globally. The sun is setting on about 6,000 employees at Sun Microsystems. The U.S. Postal Service lost $2.8 billion in the last fiscal year. Sears will close seven more underperforming stores. J.C. Penney reported 3Q profits dropped 52 percent. Meanwhile, Wal-Mart announced 3Q profits rose 10 percent. Look for new store greeters to boast résumés featuring skills in financial services, computer technology, mail delivery and retail.